Back in
January when I took my Arizona trip, I was hoping to spend a little time in
Chicago and visit my friends Greg and Karl, the later I haven’t seen in five
years. Unfortunately trains 49 and 22 were 3 to 4 hours late into Chicago
leaving me with no time to see them. When I got home from that trip, I found
out that Karl was planning on visiting London, Ontario later in the year. I
also began planning a return to Chicago trip. Throughout the year, I was
waiting to hear from Karl to find out when he’d be going to London. By
mid-September, I was starting to wonder if he’d be coming to London. I finally
decided that if I had 5 consecutive days off of work and if I didn’t hear from
Karl, I’d go on this trip. I found out I had October 9th-13th
off. I emailed Karl asking him if he was coming to London around the time and
he said that his trip to London had been scrubbed for the foreseeable future.

While Greg
came to Toronto in early September, I was already in the planning stages of
this trip and I told him prior that I would come to Chicago around October.

My plan was
to ride Amtrak’s Maple Leaf from Toronto to Amsterdam, New York, spend the
night there. The next morning, I would railfan at the station before catching
Amtrak train 285 to Utica and then train 49 to Chicago. At Chicago, I would
spend the night there while riding around on the CTA and meet up with Greg and
Karl. On the 12th, I would get on train 48 and ride to Buffalo where
I would either ride a bus or train 63 home to Toronto. All but the last part
would go according to plan.

October 9, 2006:

I got up
around 6:45 am. After breakfast, my mom gave me a ride to Union station where I
arrived almost an hour before the Maple Leaf would depart. Eventually, boarding
commenced. I was seated in Amfleet 2 coach #25047, a refurbished coach with a
white and blue interior, digital display boards, and AC outlets by each seat.
Upon boarding my coach, I met a railfan who was traveling to Niagara Falls who
spoke with an Irish accent. We talked a bit about trains and locomotives.

The train as VIA train 97 departed
right on time. As the train passed VIA’s Toronto Maintenance Centre, I took
video of the equipment that was in the yard. I was pleased to see the Grand
Luxe passenger train, (formerly the American Orient Express) sitting in the
yard. The train made its regular stops in Oakville, Aldershot, Grimsby, and St.
Catherines. After we left, I went into the café car because I didn’t get a
customs form unlike my Arizona trip and my February 2005 trip into the U.S. I
filled out the sheet and held onto it as we arrived into Niagara Falls,
Ontario. At Niagara Falls, the railfan I was speaking to earlier got off.
After, a Girl Scout troop who was traveling to Syracuse got on. I wondered how
well behaved these girls would be compared to the high school dance club who
rode with me on Amtrak’s Three Rivers back in February of 2005.

The train crossed into the U.S.
where we began to be interviewed by the customs agents. The person who
interviewed me was an older woman who I found to be quite anal. She asked me
what I did for a living, and I told her I work for Wal-Mart. She said, “Does
Wal-Mart say you can go?” She even asked for Wal-Mart’s phone number so she
could call them. Sheesh, she was talking to me like I was a kid, (i.e. “Does
your mother say you can come here?”)

The customs agent asked to see my
return ticket. I told her I hadn’t bought it yet since my first plan to come
home was to ride the bus where you buy your ticket on the day of travel. She
then asked me if I was ever denied permission to enter the United States, which
I said no. I was thinking, “And I don’t intend to start”, but didn’t say it.
The customs agent then left me for other people. Of the three times I’ve ridden
the Maple Leaf across the Canada-U.S. boarder, this was the most anal customs
agent to have interviewed me.

Eventually the inspection was
finished, but no announcement was made. I eventually stepped off the train and
took a couple photos.

We left Niagara Falls, New York
shortly thereafter. The train crew announced that we were now running 45
minutes late. In addition, they told us that we would encounter track work
which may put the train into New York City 1-2 hours late. I headed to the café
car for lunch.

Train 64 stopped at Buffalo
Exchange Street station followed by Buffalo-Depew station. Just before we got
to Rochester, we stopped to let train 63 pass us. At Rochester, many people got
on, filling almost every seat. It was here where I picked up a seat mate who
was traveling to New York. We chatted a bit as the train rolled on. As we
approached Syracuse, I noticed some Orion 5 CNG buses in a scrapyard.

“Looks like someone else is getting
out of CNG”, I thought to myself. The Toronto Transit Commission, (TTC) is in
the process of either retiring or converting buses that previously ran on
natural gas to diesel because the natural gas buses aren’t reliable.

At Syracuse, the Girl Scout troop got
off and quite a few more people got on. After we left, I lent a pair of AA
batteries to my seatmate for his walkman. He soon returned them to me and
bought some from the café car. The train stopped at Rome and Utica. At one
point, I saw a former Lackawanna E-unit. At Utica, I filmed various pieces of
rolling stock belonging to the Adirondack Scenic Valley Tourist train. Between
Utica and Amsterdam, I filmed Amtrak train #285 as we passed it.By now it was after 6:00 pm. I was wondering
if the hotel I had reserved would still hold my room since I didn’t reserve it
on a credit card. That happened on my trip to Timmins earlier this year when
the motel I booked gave away my room. Train 64 arrived in Amsterdam shortly
after 7:00 pm, running about 90 minutes late. After getting off, I took a
couple photos of the train and a bad video of the train departing.

At Amsterdam, I met up with
Richard, who I had met last year when I rode Amtrak’s Three Rivers prior to
Amtrak abandoning the route. Back then, he was a conductor with CSX. I found
out that he had been promoted to engineer the week before. He gave me a ride to
my hotel which was a Best Western hotel about 3 miles from the Amtrak station.
Upon getting to the lobby, I found that I still had a room and quickly paid and
dropped off my stuff. After, Richard and I headed out to dinner at a Wendy’s.
During dinner, I showed Richard the photos I took on my Arizona trip and told
him about other trips I had taken since the trip where we met. I also brought
up that in August of last year, an Air France jetliner skidded off the runway
at Toronto and burst into flames. Amazingly in this plane crash, everyone
survived despite the plane being totally destroyed.

After dinner, we headed back to the
Amsterdam station to watch some trains. We ended up seeing five eastbound
freights passing a few minutes of each other. Richard then took me back to my
hotel where I watched a bit of TV. At one point, I saw Amtrak’s westbound Lake
Shore Limited from my room. It was running about 3 hours late. I also saw a
freight train with at least 5 locomotives on the front. One of the locomotives
looked like an ex BC Rail SD40. I eventually called it a night.

October 10, 2006:

I got up at 9:00 am and had
breakfast. After breakfast, I headed back to my room where I got packed. From
my room, I saw Amtrak train #280 pass by.

I then checked out and called a taxi. The taxi was a few
minutes late, but I got down to the Amsterdam train station just as train 63
arrived bound for Toronto.

As train 63 departed, I filmed it
pulling out of the station. I noticed that the coaches were the same as the
train I rode down on. It just had a different P42 on the head end. 30 minutes
after train 63 departed, I photographed a westbound CSX intermodel.

After that freight train passed, I
filmed another westbound CSX freight passing. It was led by a GP40 and
consisted of 13 empty flat cars. At this point, I was joined by a couple and
their young son who wanted to see a freight train up close. I showed them the video
of the train that had passed moments earlier. Soon, another westbound CSX
intermodel passed much to the delight of the kid. The family waited until the
next train passed 20 minutes later. One more freight passed before I filmed
Amtrak train #48, the eastbound Lake Shore Limited as it passed non-stop
through the station.

I then headed out for lunch, after
searching around for awhile, I found a restaurant, but it was closed. The
restaurant was trackside, and I photographed a westbound freight.

I then asked at a nearby gas
station where I could find a restaurant. I eventually ate at a cafeteria at a
nearby hospital. Contrary to belief, the food was pretty good! I then headed
back to the station where I found Richard waiting for me. We watched as Amtrak
train 283 arrived into Amsterdam and left a minute later. I filmed that train.
A westbound freight passed by with a BNSF SD40 in the consist which I
photographed.

Shortly after the freight passed,
Richard had to go because he had been called for his first revenue run as a CSX
engineer. I stayed at the station where I photographed another freight train
and filmed Amtrak train #286 as it raced through Amsterdam non stop.

Three more freight passed. The
first has a Union Pacific SD70ACe and a CEFX unit as power.

The second train was a work train
behind led by a single GP40-2 running long hood forward.

At one point, I went inside the
depot building and saw that it had an Amtrak system map that was 13-years out
of date! It still had the Desert Wind and Pioneer which were discontinued 9-10
years ago, The Three Rivers route west of Pittsburgh, (then the Broadway
Limited), VIA Rail Canada’s Atlantic train through Maine, and the Sunset
Limited running through Phoenix! Given Amtrak’s current financial situation, I
can’t say I blame them for not updating the map!

Soon, I saw my train, Amtrak train
#285 arriving. The train pulled in 7 minutes late. As it arrived, I saw it was
lead by P32AC-DM #701, the unit that led train #286 back in July of 2005 when I
rode that train to Rochester.

I boarded Amfleet 1 Capstone
rebuilt coach #82024, which had blue seats, electronic display boards, and AC
outlets by each seat. We soon left Amsterdam.

I would be on the train for about
an hour because I was getting off at Utica, the next stop to transfer to the
Lake Shore Limited to Chicago. After waiting for my ticket to be taken, I went
to the café car and found the conductor. He took my ticket right there and gave
me a seat check which I put over my seat. I then went back to the café car and
bought some nachos to snack on just in case the Lake Shore Limited would be
hours late into Utica like it was yesterday and back in January when I rode it
to Chicago on my Arizona trip. We took the siding for a couple freights and
were passed by Amtrak train #64. We arrived in Utica about 25 minutes late.
After getting off, I took a photo of the train and various pieces of railway
rolling stock in the immediate area.

As train 285 departed, I filmed the
train pulling out. I then went into the station where I called home to check
in. I then called Julie to find the status of train 49 and found it was about
40 minutes late. That was certainly better than 2.5 hours late!

I then went outside and photographed
the Alco RSD series locomotive on display. I then went by the restaurant where
I had dinner on the first night of my Arizona trip because 49 was running so
late, but this time I didn’t go in.

Throughout the evening, I
photographed some of the equipment around the station and kept calling Julie
about the status of train 49. The train showed up about 50 minutes late. As it
pulled in, I noticed that there were four Viewliner sleeping cars on the train.
The first one was being used as a substitute for the 2500 series crew sleeper
which is usually run behind the baggage car. I boarded the train and was
initially directed to the only unrefurbished Amfleet 2 coach on the train, but
found it to be full. I then moved to the next car back which was refurbished
and saw it was also full. I then chose a seat and stowed my bag. I took an
aisle seat since there was someone sitting in the window seat.

After my ticket was taken, I headed
to the diner and saw that it was a Temoinsa refurbished
diner. They told me the diner was preparing to close. I then got something from
the café car which was an unrefurbished Amfleet 2 café car, just like the first
time I rode the Lakeshore Limited. I then returned to my seat where I was
joined by my seatmate. Soon, I decided to try to sleep. I was disturbed by the
lady behind me who was snoring very loudly! I started looking for another place
to sit! I eventually found two free seats on the left side of the train two
cars ahead of me and I moved. In that coach, there were no snorers, but I found
out that there were no curtains in the windows either! I decided to stay.

Outside of Rochester, we stopped.
The train crew announced that a freight train had hit a car west of Rochester
and that we would proceed down to Rochester and wait. We didn’t move for
awhile, we eventually got to Rochester though were I stepped off and took some
photos.

Shortly after I got back on the
train, we departed. I guess they must have resolved the problem. We stopped at
Buffalo-Depew before heading west for Erie and points west. I then pulled out
the blanket I bought on the Three Rivers and tried to get some sleep, though I
woke up as we arrived into Erie, Pennsylvania.

October 11, 2006:

I woke up as we were approaching
Toledo. When we stopped, I got out and took a few photos since this was a
smoking stop.

I got back on the train and had a
nap. The train soon left. After awhile I got up and headed to the dining car
for breakfast. While I was having breakfast, the train stopped at Elkhart where
I filmed the New York Central Railway museum. This time I was able to film the
museum without a freight train ruining my shot!

I soon left and went back to my
coach. After awhile, I went to the café car just before it closed. The train
stopped in South Bend. We soon departed and I went back to my coach. We passed
a few freights. At least one had BNSF power.

Soon, we were approaching Chicago.
Just like my Arizona trip, I wasn’t sure if the train would front in or be wyed
and back in. Once again, we fronted it. As we passed Amtrak’s 14th
street yard, I filmed various pieces of equipment in the yard. I even saw
Amtrak business car #10001, Beech Grove, a modified Amfleet coach that is used by Amtrak Management
on special trips around the Amtrak System.

Train 49 arrived into Chicago one hour and 2
minutes late. After I got off, I took some photos of the train and either the
Southwest Chief or the California Zephyr on the track next to us.

This
Viewliner, #62018, “Meadow View” is being substituted for a #2500 series crew
dorm car. I bet the Amtrak crew liked that.

After I got into the terminal, I stowed my luggage
in a locker. I then headed out to the El. I saw that CTA recently got some New Flyer
D60LF articulated buses with the newer style front. I filmed one of those buses
as it drove past. I soon found the El, but a couple people asked me for money
to get on the El, which I didn’t give any.

When I got to the platform, I rode one of CTA’s 2200
series El Cars which are the oldest cars in revenue service with CTA. I got off
the train at Clark/Lake station where I filmed the train pulling out. I then
headed to the green line and rode to the Clinton station where I headed to
CTA’s main office building to buy a day pass much like what I did in February
of 2005.

I then headed back catching my first ride on CTA’s
new pink line. The pink line opened at the end of summer of 2006. The line runs
around the Loop, follows the green line for two stops, then takes a turn to the
left running non-stop until it intersects a branch of the blue line which
previously only saw service during peak hours. The pink line runs four car
trains, which always consist of a pair of 2600 cars and a pair of 2200s. This
is the only time where you could stand a chance of riding a 2200 series car
leading. One other thing worth noting is that CTA shrink wrapped a few 2600
series cars assigned to the pink line to promote the new line. The cars are
appropriately now pink! No 2200s were wrapped though.

After I boarded, we sat in the station for several
minutes. This was because the el crosses the Chicago River on a drawbridge, and
the bridge was raised for boat traffic! After awhile, the bridge was lowered
and we were off. I then got off at Clark/Lake station, where I photographed the
train and filmed it pulling out.

I then rode the Blue line back to the Clinton
station (which is about six blocks away from the Clinton station on the green
line), and then walked three blocks to the Amtrak station. Once I got to the
station, I bought lunch then retrieved my stuff from the locker. I then headed
back to the el.

A couple taxi drivers asked if I needed a lift, but
I said no. One guy escorted me to the station, even though I didn’t need it. He
was another person who asked me for money and I told him no. I was reminded of
how on my trip to Arizona, one guy kept asking me for $10, even though I kept
telling him no. I thought to myself, “People like the $10 guy shouldn’t be
allowed to breed!”

I got back onto the El and boarded another 2200
series car. The car was pretty full, though I had a seat, I was cramped because
I was hauling my suitcase and my duffel bag and at one point, I almost had no
feeling in my legs! I was thankful when I finally got off. I then had to
transfer to a bus to get to my hotel.

When I finally got to my hotel, I was able to check
in and go to my room with little trouble. After dropping off my stuff, I turned
on the TV and the first thing I saw was that a plane had crashed into an
apartment building in New York! New York’s LaGuardia Airport was closed. I
thought to myself, “good thing I took the train!”

I then headed back out and took a bus back to the
El. Once I got to the Jefferson Park station, I called my friend Karl from a
payphone and got through. We arranged to meet back at my hotel around 7:00 pm.
I then headed downtown again. I then caught a train downtown where I
transferred to a pink line train being led by CTA series 2200 cars 2201 and
2202, the first two 2200’s. They are the oldest cars in revenue service with
CTA, but they have some older cars. They have two 4000 series cars which are
CTA’s historic cars which are mostly used for charters. CTA also has a pair of
2000 series cars in storage. The 2000 series were bought before the 2200s and
were retired in 1994, being outlasted by the older 6000 series and 1-50 series
el cars.

I got off the train and photographed it and filmed
the train as it pulled out.

After the train pulled out, I went to a payphone
and called Greg. He told me to meet him at the Clinton station on the green
line at 5:30.

I then headed to the platform to catch the next
inbound Pink line train When it came in, I saw that it was being led by a pair
of 2200s and had two 2600 series cars that were shrinkwrapped pink. I boarded
and rode to Clinton station arriving several minutes early. I set up to record
the train leaving. As it left, a CTA employee on the opposite side told me I
wasn’t supposed to take pictures. I said sorry, but he soon left on the next
train.

I was a little annoyed, but soon went back to
filming and photographing trains. I believe that CTA may have a policy similar
to TTC where professional photography (i.e. media or movie companies) is
prohibited unless you have a permit. However, it the TTC’s bylaw does NOTrestrict private
photography. This guy would be the only CTA employee to attempt to hinder me
taking pictures.

Greg soon arrived and we caught another pink line
train to Adams station where we ate dinner at a pub. On the el, Greg and I
talked about the plane crash in New York earlier. He mentioned that the pilot
was from the New York Yankees. I asked if it was Derek Jeter, because my sister
has a crush on Derek and would be very upset if he was killed. Fortunately, the
pilot was not Derek.

While we were at dinner, we swapped stories,
telling him about the “adventure” I had coming home on my Arizona trip and
dealing with the guy who kept asking me for $10, even though I kept telling him
no. Greg also said he wouldn’t have given the guy any money. I also told Greg
about the anal customs agent who interviewed me on Amtrak’s Maple Leaf two days
earlier.

Greg told me of a recent excursion on a chartered Amtrak train. The train
was delayed significantly even before it left the yard! We also discussed
recent events at the Illinois Railway Museum where Greg is a streetcar operator
there. We mostly discussed the Nebraska Zephyr which is presently out for
repairs following a split switch accident last year.

After dinner, we headed back to the el. I realized I had lost my day
pass somewhere. After searching, Greg gave me some money to get on. I offered
to pay him back, but he said it was okay. We then caught the next green line train.

As we went around the curve north of the Wabash el station, Greg
pointed out that it was the scene of a bad accident in the late 1970’s. The
operator of a train consisting of 6000 series el cars rear-ended a train
consisting of a set of 2000 series el cars and a set of 2200 el cars. According
to Greg, the operator of the 6000 series train was trying to impress some
female passengers and allowed his train to get too close before breaking. With
the first impact, the driver was thrown against the control level which made
the train accelerate. As it approached the sharp curve, the train in front was
shoved right off the tracks and fell down to the street below, killing 11,
including at least one person on the street.

We then rode the green line to Austin station. During the ride, Greg
gave me a history lesson of the area of the line. He said that one station was
built on a grade so one end was higher than the other. He also pointed out at
one point that we were on the highest point on the CTA system.

When we got to Austin, we walked a few blocks to where Greg’s car was
parked. He then drove me back to my hotel. Along the way, we talked about
various hauntings in Chicago. The only one I’m familiar with is the one
surrounding the fatal crash of American Airlines flight 191 on May 25, 1979.

On that day, the plane, a DC-10 was taking off from Chicago O’Hare
International airport bound for Los Angeles when the engine on the left wing
tore itself off. Shortly after takeoff, the plane rolled to the left and crashed
killing all 271 on board as well as two people on the ground. Following the
crash, odd lights were reported at the crash site and spirits of people were
observed in a nearby trailer park. In addition, people have reported another
spirit by the gate where flight 191 departed from, making a call from a
payphone.

I asked Greg if there were any hauntings relating to the el, and he
said he had no knowledge.

I got back to my hotel at 8:00 pm. Of course, I was to meet Karl after
7:00. I saw there was a message on the answering machine that was from Karl. I
then called him back and he said he lived a few minutes away from my hotel and
that he could be over shortly.

A few minutes later, Karl arrived. We started to catch up on what had happened
since we last met. I had actually met Karl in the summer of 2000 while he was
living in Michigan and a member of the Michigan Transit Museum which in 1996
acquired former Toronto PCC streetcar #4601, one of the 19 that were mothballed
at the end of 1995 and one of my two favorite cars of the bunch. I met Karl
again the following summer when he visited the Halton County Radial Railway
Museum about an hour west of Toronto.

Karl and I talked a little about airplanes and the new Airbus A380
super jumbo that has a large turning radius than a Boeing 747 and requires
runways at airports to be wider. I also told Karl about some of the trips I had
taken since 2004 and showed him the photos I took on my trip to Arizona.

Karl works for Union Pacific and he told me some stories from the
railway, including one time where a Metra commuter train actually ran out of
gas! That train had to be pushed in by another Metra train. I bet there was a
lot of embarrassment after that incident!

After awhile, Karl had to leave because he had to be up early the next
morning, but we agreed to keep in contact. We also decided that my next trip to
Chicago, if I had quite a bit of time, we’d hit various museums and such.

After Karl left, I watched a little TV before I called it a night.

October
12, 2006:

I got up and headed to the lobby of the hotel for the complimentary
continental breakfast. The first thing I saw when I got outside was that it was
snowing! After breakfast, I walked over to a Target department store two blocks
away where I browsed a bit before I bought Weird Al’s new CD. I then returned
to my hotel where I got packed and checked out. I then caught a bus to the el
station where I rode to O’Hare Airport. By now, the snow had stopped, but it
was still cold.

At O’Hare, I looked around a bit before I bought a day pass. I then
caught an el train downtown. At one point, the train ran express and bypassed a
few stops until it got to Clark/Lake station. After that, it resumed running
locally. At one point, a girl had missed her stop. Instead of riding to the
next stop, she actually pulled the emergency door open handle and exited the
train! The doors soon closed though and we were underway.

I got off at Clinton station and walked to Union station where I stowed
my bags. I then grabbed lunch in the station, noticing the arrival of Amtrak’s
Cardinal was delayed by hours because of a stalled freight.

After lunch, I headed over to Amtrak’s 14th Street yard and
photographed the coaches there.

It was cold and windy, so I made a hasty retreat back to the el station
and caught an orange line train to the Library station where I got off and
transferred to a brown line train. I was going to ride the brown line since
Greg and I didn’t the day before. I rode the train almost to the end of the
line where I saw that some portions of the line crossed public roads at grade.
I also noticed that the Francisco station was being rehabilitated and was
merely a skeleton. After I got off, I filmed my train passing through a grade
crossing before I rode the line to the Belmont station where I transferred to a
red line train and rode all the way to Howard. At Howard, I got off and
transferred to the Skokie Swift. As the train passed CTA’s Skokie shops, I
filmed it. I also saw the set of 2000 series el cars that CTA has in storage.

After riding back to Howard on the same train, I took a photo of the
train before I got on another red line train.

I rode the red line train to Fullerton where I transferred to a brown
line train and rode to Merchandise Mart. I called home from Merchandise Mart. I
also attempted to call Greg, but he didn’t answer. I then rode over to the
Clinton station on the green line to try to meet him, but he was gone. I
eventually returned to Union station after riding one more set of 2200 series
el cars on the blue line. At Clinton, I filmed the train pulling out before I
returned to Union station.

At Union station, I retrieved my stuff from the locker and changed
memory sticks on my digital camera. I then bought some snacks from a
convenience store before I went out to wait for the Lake Shore Limited to
board.

While I was waiting, I saw that the Cardinal was going to depart at
7:45, but I didn’t see a train at the platform. I only saw Superliner snack
coach #35002, and no engine. I guess they decided to turn the train at
Indianapolis and send were going to send a shuttle train to meet it there. I
also saw that a company was renting portable entertainment sets and I almost
rented one, but opted out at the last minute. Soon, train 48 boarded.

I was seated in Amfleet 2 coach #25046, a refurbished coach. This coach
did have curtains. I watched the City of New Orleans depart and then noticed a
tumbleweed on the track next to my train. I figure that some people might use
that as a reflection on Amtrak’s ridership!

We had boarded pretty early and I figured that we would leave on time.
We ended up waiting for at least 30 minutes because the California Zephyr, which has a guaranteed connection with the Lake Shore, had arrived
late, which had people transferring to the Lake Shore, so we waited. I
overheard another passenger mention that they were on the previous day’s
California Zephyr and had missed their connection with the Lake Shore, so
Amtrak put them in a hotel and put them on tonight’s train. She mentioned that
it’s better to be late on the train than on an airplane. I agree because on my
Arizona trip, despite the fact the eastbound Sunset Limited was 12 hours late,
Amtrak ensured we got where we were going by chartering a highway coach and
bused many passengers to Dallas to meet the Texas Eagle.

We finally left
and I saw two private coaches sitting in Amtrak’s 14th Street yard.
Soon, they were taking dinner reservations for 9:30 pm central time. I asked
for a seat.After awhile, I headed to
the café car, which was a refurbished Amfleet 2 car with a smoking lounge. I
took some photos of the interior before I started talking with a man traveling
to Boston about airplane crashes.

Soon, I went
into the diner for dinner. The car was not a Temoinsa refurbished diner.
The car was packed, but I did eventually get a table. During the course of my
meal, the train stopped and remained stopped while we waited for a couple NS
freights. I paid for my meal and went back to my coach where I laid across the
two seats and tried to get some sleep. At times, I found it to be quite
difficult because an Amish woman seated in front of me was snoring. I thought
to myself that people who snore should be seated in their own coach away from
people who don’t snore!